Vladimir has just begun a long sentence for smuggling electronics into the Soviet Union. Vladimir's only friend is Aleksei, a political prisoner, and together they work cutting down trees and constructing new buildings for the camp. Aside from having to deal with impossible quotas, an inadequate diet, and a general feeling of hopelessness, Vladimir is relentlessly beaten by fellow inmates who hate him for being Jewish. Both Vladimir and Aleksei are lucky to be friends, however, as they both end up saving each others' lives. To compound an already horrific situation, Vladimir cannot hope to escape, the one belief that gives gulag inmates any hope for the future: his wife, Elena, is also behind bars in the female part of the gulag. With everything stacked against him, Vladimir is reduced to the single option of transforming himself into something he never thought possible, a change that will heighten the chances of survival for him and his wife.
